Girls' Frontline: Extinction
by okamisenpai34
Summary: Welcome to another adventure! Follow Zack as he struggles to find purpose in the post-war world of GFL! This story uses elements from my other AU work 'Girls' Frontline: The fall' (I would like to thank Musing Soul, Flare007 and Coolguybest9 for their hard work, support and editing on this new project! Please give their stories a read, you won't regret it.)
1. Chapter 1

From a distance, the sharp eye could just pick out two figures sitting atop the nearest ruin, resolved against the lightly falling snow. They both seemed quite content to regard the scarred and blasted terrain around them, a once proud city, laid low by some unknown calamity and now left to the mercy of time and nature, both seeking to take their toll upon their former oppressor.

The figures upon the ruin didn't move as the wind rose, kicking the powdery snow up in waves, producing the occasional rattle and clatter from the clutter below. On the right, one hid behind a hooded coat, the sharp crimson of blood upon their nose sticking out against otherwise well-hidden features.

"Are you lonely?" The other, female, somehow retaining an air of elegance despite the landscape and weather, spoke, firm but soft.

The man turned his head, just enough to show that the crimson stain visible beneath his hood was a bloodied nose, and a few small scars becoming visible. "Interesting choice for your first words." A small halfhearted chuckle followed that observation, then a longer quiet, as his attention drifted back to the snow continuing to pile onto the ground below. "I can't handle change."

The woman didn't answer, verbally, dropping her slim frame onto the snow with a soft 'pumf'.

* * *

"Zack, time to get up", the tender voice of a woman called out from the barren darkness, the coiling smell of fresh cut Timber decorated the small room. A chair, a table, and a small gathering space near a window radiated the little life they could into the otherwise, monotone atmosphere.

"No way, it's barely six. At the very least I have an hour left." Zack groaned angrily, burying his face deeper into his home-made pillow, attempting to return to his pleasant dream.

"That may be so, but old man Aurin hates waiting for you. don't you think you could at least wake up early this time?" ,the female voice continued, the sound of cloth rubbing together made it clear she was crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Zack, listen to Jennifer." Another voice, this one masculine and brimming with power and assertiveness, echoed from deeper in the house.

Zack let out a defeated groan and slowly turned to face the ceiling, the blinding light of a new day slowly coming into view. From the window a small tree and a handful of children could be seen, making circles around a makeshift playing field. The birds slowly sang their melancholic winter songs as the snow tenderly blanketed the scene as far as the eye could see. "Sure, whatever."

He rubbed his eyes and slowly lifted his head to face the girl standing tall before him. "What does Aurin want with me this early anyway? It's Sunday, the shop is closed. You know that, Jen." He finished, yawning shortly afterwards.

Jennifer was a sight to behold, with hair as red as blood and eyes as green as emeralds she really was a foreign sight amongst the general population of the Nexus. Five feet and eight inches of nothing but overwhelming ferocity and nagging. Despite her exquisite, and quite exotic looks, the clothes upon her back were like mud on a diamond. A torn shirt with holes and tears decorating its lower half, it has been picked up from a trade post's dumping site most likely and then repaired at home. Her bottoms weren't much generous either, ripped jeans that even a blind man could tell were at least 2 sizes too small for her figure. The men, of course, never minded this small detail but when winter came it was never really in anyone's option book to be too picky about their articles of clothing. Especially in the poorer sections.

"Did they…say things when they saw you coming here?" Zack asked in a soft, yet caring whisper.

Jennifer looked down at the ground for a second before turning her green eyes back onto Zack. "They always do, this time they even offered me money." She replied in a surprised, yet disgusted snarl.

'They', were, of course, the wealthier visitors of the nexus. 'Home', to Zack and his friends was located in the easternmost wall of the Nexus. Zack had once overheard one of the local G&K soldiers describe his home area in a way he never truly forgot. "if anyone asked me if it was possible for a city to have a shit hole, it'd probably be right here. Nobody ever came from the eastern side of the Nexus, anyone who did was mainly selling illegal substances or simply trying to visit a cheap brothel. The women who could live a decent living without turning to illegal activities or selling themselves in this area were very few, less than 200 at the very least. The ones who did always moved out of the area as soon as possible. Zack knew that Jennifer had been scouted multiple times before, each with an increased pay-grade and 'luxurious' living conditions, but Jennifer always refused, which angered and confused the brothel owners to no end.

* * *

When the Nexus had first been built, it came as a surprise to everyone when G&K and IOP declared it would be its own territory, away from the general rules of the mainland. Back when the alien tech that gave birth to the DOLL project had first been uncovered, it came along with many other advances such as terrain manipulation and weather control. In its infancy, the DOLL project sent out multiple research teams around the globe to test out the new hybrid technology they had created. Genetic splicing and cancer research had come first, in the early 2030's it had been announced to the world that a solution created from the alien technology and advanced nanotechnology had been created, one that could cure cancer down to it's last cell. 100% purged down to the atomic level. With news like these the general thinking on the project skyrocketed from negative to positive almost overnight.

The Nexus was the result of one of those tests, the terrain control tests allowed the global powers to create land wherever they pleased, at the cost of ocean of course. The first area ever created was a small continent off the east of Japan's waters. Its creators dubbed it "Prima" and built the Nexus right on top of it.

While the optimists of the world expected the creation of the Nexus to spearhead the elevation of humanities fortunes, most would have seen the current circumstances coming. While the military base and facilities farther in, and even the business district prospered under the auspices of Griffon and Kryuger and IOP, the Markets farther out thrived, those less fortunate, or just down on their luck, ended up in the slums, and, as was typical, very little was done to lift them up, out of their misery, not counting the 'offers' to the women, of course.

"Any idea what the old man wants me for this early?" Zack stretched, pulling himself to his feet. "We didn't have anything left over to work on from the week…" He trailed off, shaking the last bits of sleep off. "This really just more lessons?" Jennifer shrugged, seeming to smirk at his predicament.

"Why don't you go and find out?" She sauntered out of the room, still smirking, leaving Zack to grumble to himself.

* * *

While for all intents and purposes independent, the Nexus took some obvious inspiration from the nearby countries. Most of the buildings in the market and industrial zone took inspiration from traditional Japanese architecture, low sweeping rooves, and multistoried buildings stacked, close together. Of course, plenty of evidence of the modern era could be seen, holographic screens in the market proclaiming various deals, and if one took a wander down towards the IOP buildings, they'd find full sized advertisements for a myriad of A-Dolls, seeming designed for every purpose imaginable.

Of course, not everyone wanted to pay the prices IOP wanted, or wanted things to be kept entirely above board, which is where Zack and his little family came in. Even before Uriel found him, the old man had run an operation repairing Dolls, either decommissioned, or damaged, and bringing them back to life. Sometimes they found lives in service of some of those who sought to be on the less than savory side of the law, others struck out to make their own lives. Regardless, the old man, and later Zack, made their lives well enough, and kept things together well enough, considering the situation.

"So, what are we doing today?" Zack stepped into the 'shop'. In reality, it was just another somewhat ramshackle structure, albeit with a nicer coat of paint so to speak, at least compared to the rest of the slum. Then again, most people in this part of town knew what the old man, and by extension, Zack did, so reputation kept them afloat, regardless of the appearance of the shop.

"I think it is about time I check your progress without my assistance." Aurin looked up from pile of assorted DOLL parts, arms crossed as he stared down at Zack. Substantially larger than Zack, Aurin's form was large and stocky, despite being at least into his late fifties, although Zack didn't know his exact age. "You learn quick, so I think it's time to see if you can put that knowledge to use."

"Alright." Zack nodded. He'd done plenty of work when supervised, but never worked alone on repairs, so he couldn't deny feeling more than a little nervous. "What do you want me to do?"

Aurin reached into a nearby sorting cabinet and pulled out a magenta colored folder. "New customer, came in yesterday actually. Here." He finished as he gently placed the folder in Zack's oil covered hands.

"Commission or walk-in?" Asked Zack as he carefully read the contents of the folder.

"Walk-in." Aurin answered with a knowledgeable tone. "M12 model, Italian." Aurin continued as he carefully examined Zack's handwork with the parts preparation. "Came in with a missing arm, construction accident apparently. A lot of retired Dolls have been taking jobs in construction lately." He sighed and crossed his arms as he walked down the hall to the storage room. "Nothing more than slave Labor if you ask me , they barely pay anything and the poor souls are forced to take the jobs because nowhere else will hire them without signed retirement papers."

"What do you mean?" Asked Zack with clear confusion in his voice. Aurin walked up to the maintenance pod containing the M12 model and placed his hand on the transparent glass that held the sleeping doll in merciful stasis. "A lot of the girls that come here, have no other choice but to do so. Dolls abandoned during missions or left for dead in combat never receive proper paperwork, because of that, the regular military grade facilities will not help them since they're considered illegal models without paperwork."

"Can they not look up their serial numbers!?" Zack shouted in return, curling his hands into fists. "That's inhumane…how can they abandon them after they risk soul and limb for the survival of our species everyday!?" He continued before looking down at the ground. Aurin looked at the angered boy with a blank stare before letting out a small smile. "Maybe you'll change everything if you work hard enough." He whispered to himself before pressing the 'release' button on the storage pod.

* * *

"Done, I think." Zack groaned, leaning back from the table, letting his tools drop to the surface. "Everything looks good." He glanced over his shoulder at Aurin, seeking some degree of confirmation, but the old man's face didn't change, leaving Zack to go about the process of waking the DOLL back up again, having successfully restored her arm to life.

As her eyes flickered open, Zack managed what he hoped to be a reassuring smile. "Let me know if anything seems off, but you should be good to go." She moved her arm, flexing the muscles experimentally, before nodding to herself.

"You did a good job, thank you." She flashed Zack a bright smile before hopping down, and out of the room.

"Not bad." Aurin rumbled. "We'll talk over lunch."


	2. Chapter 2

Despite Aurin's muscular build, he had quite the appetite. Zack knew very well that only one place in the East Wall that could satisfy his hunger was the Fanged Sakura. The place wasn't an award-winning chain, but it was good enough. The wall might have a garish crimson hue, the chairs made of leftover scrap, and the curtains eaten through by moths several times over, but considering what little you could find in the city, it was more than enough for Aurin.

"this is the 3'rd time this week, old man." Zack sighed as he looked to the towering man beside him. The place truly was Aurin's personal heaven, almost after every job he would come down and enjoy a couple dishes.

"those are rookie numbers, boy. Back in my prime I used to come down every morning and night, might as well be my second home!" Aurin responded with a loud bellow. Zack let out a small smile at the visage, the man was clearly in his last few years of life, yet, it was as if he felt more alive with every passing day. It only took a couple minutes to reach the destination, the Fanged Sakura was fairly close to the shop so it was rather convenient, at times they even delivered the food to Aurin by foot if he couldn't make it down.

"welcome, table for two?" asked a retired P-38 model doll in a maid outfit. Aurin smiled and nodded his head slightly, to which the Doll responded by writing their names on a piece of paper and signaling them to follow her. "this way please." She asked softly as she picked up two tattered plastic menus and moved down the hall at a steady pace.

The Doll showed them to a table by a small, neon green tainted glass window. "a server will be with you soon, thank you for choosing us today." She finished with a courteous bow before heading back to her station.

"polite, eh?" Aurin asked, nudging Zack on the shoulder.

Zack rolled his eyes and sank back into his seat. "so," he started, slowly crossing his arms. "how did I do?"

Aurin raised an eyebrow and linked his fingers together, resting his chin on his joined hands. "the core analysis needs serious work, you're good with your hands but not all damage is physical.", placing a knife in his hand and facing it towards Zack, he continued. "don't get ahead of yourself. experience will take time; this line of work isn't for just anyone."

Zack's eyes widened as the tip of the knife came centimeters close to puncturing his iris, beads of sweat slowly began to drip down his forehead, gently brushing against the tip of the sharpened blade.

Aurin chuckled and spun the knife between his fingers before stabbing it into the metal table, piercing it completely. "But you've got a lot of talent, definitely enough to surprise me."

A comically large bead of sweat formed on Zack's brow as his nerves returned to their normal functions. "I'll take that as a compliment then."

* * *

After what seemed to be endless hours of eating, the duo returned to their place of work and began the nightly closing routine. Twin shadows, one towering over the other, danced around the cement walls of the dead silent workshop, accompanied by the sound of closing drawers and metal tools being put into their respective containers. "containment bay is good, I cleaned the dock too, I don't think we are getting any more deliveries until next week so that should be fine, all tools in the repair room are accounted for and the credits have been counted." Cried out the voice of younger man who was slowly coming down the rusted metal stairs towards the entrance.

"aye, good eye tonight." Replied Aurin as Zack slowly descended the last steps onto the ground floor. "I have a gift for you tomorrow, swing back tomorrow whenever you can." He finished before opening the front door for the two of them to exit. Zack nodded in response and bowed politely before commencing his long journey home.

"the train is going to stop running soon, want me to take you back?" Aurin offered as he began locking the doors around the shop.

Zack stopped and turned to the old man, giving him a sideways glance before looking up towards the ocean of stars in thought. "its supposed to snow tonight, I don't want you driving further than you have to. Head home old man." he finished, turning his head towards the road once again.

"tough little shit, aren't you?" Aurin whispered to himself, letting out a small chuckle as he stored his keys back into his pocket.

Aurin checked his shop once more before heading towards his truck, which was parked behind the shop in a gated alleyway. His truck wasn't really much to speak of, an old-world relic at best. The identifying maker tag had already disintegrated over the years, multiple weekly repairs being the only thing that kept the vehicle itself from suffering the same fate. Orange with a shade of black, a weird color combination but Aurin had grown used to it, grown fond of it almost. A certain tough little brat had been the one to paint it years ago after all, without consent at that.

Aurin's hand slowly began to move the key towards the door's keyhole when it was suddenly stopped by the sound of shattering glass behind him. "oh dear…" he sighed, reaching into the trunk of his truck, pulling out a black case. He carefully opened it and grabbed it's sole item, an AR-15 with 2 fully loaded magazines. "bandits at this time at night? Unusual but no unheard of…I was hoping I wouldn't have to mop any blood off the walls this week." He sighed in protest.

* * *

Meanwhile, a couple miles away.

Zack looked ahead as the train station slowly came into view, a small group of people could be seen taking a seat around the nearby platform, waiting for the last train to arrive.

"I wonder what the old man got for me, probably another one of those pin-up posters…" he sighed, covering his face in embarrassment. "did he HAVE to give me that in front of EVERYONE!?" he thought aloud.

The sudden sound of something shattering brought Zack out of his internal monologue instantly. It wasn't the shattering that was bothering him. It was the lack of sound all together.

"eh..?" Zack looked around the area, deeply puzzled. His eyes turned towards the lit up boarding platform, now empty. "what?..." he whispered to himself before looking up at what was once a star filled sky, now devoid of light and governed by an unnatural darkness.

Aurin was about to enter his shop, gun in hand when the wind suddenly died out, the stars in the sky vanishing in an instant, as if devoured by the hungry jaws of a celestial being. "now that…you don't see everyday." He spoke to himself before looking around the area once more.

It was silent, an unusually dead quiet. The lights that usually covered the roads were gone. An unusual feeling ran through Aurin's spine, the darkness felt too much 'alive' as if the pending void in front of him was studying him, trying to guess his next move.


	3. Chapter 3

Zack found his feet glued to the ground, unable to move. A sense of predatory permeated in the air. An almost primal sense of danger made him prepare his body for the worst. The silence in the air rung with an uneasy emptiness.

"the hell's going on…" he whispered to himself, lowering his right hand to scour his pocket for anything that could be used as a method of defense. His fingers racing, eagerly looking for anything in the small space for a weapon, searching frantically as beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. The sudden thundering of a nearby gunshot caused him to flinch. Zack turned to face the direction of the gunshot a transport helicopter materialized out of thin air In the airspace straight above him.

"HQ, this is Harvest Fox, I repeat this is Harvest Fox entering unknown airspace please advice." A loud speaker from the helicopter echoed in the silence. Followed by a loud explosion as an unknown projectile destroys the central cockpit, killing the pilots. Bloody pieces of torn flesh and burned uniform pieces littered the air, hitting the ground with meaty thumps causing Zack to hold his breath, a small attempt to try to keep himself from smelling the burning flesh around him.

"H-Hey!" Zack forced his feet off the ground and slid down the nearby hill, pushing forward full-speed towards the crash, Debris and shrapnel grazed his skin, one shard drawing a straight line of crimson on his left cheek as a piece of metal flies by him as it carved a sheer line.

"Is anyone there!? Does anybody need help!?" Zack shouted with all his might at the burning flames in front him separating him from the crashed helicopter.

"Get away from here, kid.". A soldier replied weakly from the left-side passenger door, a bloody stump where his right arm was supposed to be. "nobody was supposed to know this cargo exists."

"What are you saying? At the very least let me help you getting away from the wreck!" Zack angrily replied in protest, moving closer trying to evade the growing flames around him.

"Please, don't make me do this." The wounded man pleaded, pointing a pistol at Zack. "Just walk away, forget you ever saw this."

"You have to let me help if you're wounded!"

The wounded soldier's eyes widened in horror as he opened fire at something behind Zack "G-Get away!"

Zack ducked and started to crawl towards the crash desperately, the shock waves of the bullets passing above him making his clothes flutter in the air. He slowly looked above as the sound of multiple airlocks releasing broke the fighting nearby to a stalemate.

An armored figure with a rifle Zack had never seen before stood above him, standing tall with a hand on the helicopter's passenger door to keep balance.

"Stable connection detected, synchronizing Aegis protocol," the armored figure stated blankly before placing its left hand on Zack's forehead. A quick shock suddenly ran through his body, shrouding the world around him in complete darkness.

"Connection complete, Aegis protocol initiated." A soft female voice spoke near him as the sound of something metallic hitting the ground rang in his ears before losing consciousness.

A blanket of light slowly brought Zack's eyes back into focus.

"-ey…hey can you hear me? Hello?" The voice of a young girl called out from his side. "Hey, you're awake! You've been out for 3 days! What were you doing laying around with your girlfriend so late?"

"Girlfriend?" Zack asked himself aloud as he raised himself slightly, pushing himself with his arms behind him, upright on the bed.

"What do you mean 'girlfriend?" the girl tilted her head at Zack. "She's been clinging to you this whole time." The girl responded, pointing at a sleeping figure beside him.

Zack followed the direction of the girl's finger, landing his eyes on a sleeping woman beside him.

A veil of creamy white hair covered some of her features, caressing her cheeks softly, emphasizing the curve of her chin. Long, feminine eyelashes slowly moved as she opened her eyelids softly, revealing a bright sky-blue pair of eyes filled with curiosity.

"Hello there…" Zack nodded slightly in greeting, the woman beside him nodding back in return with a slight "Hm".

"She doesn't say much; she's only said like 3 things since we found you guys." The girl stated as she picked up a nearby wooden chair and placed it beside the bed. "She seems pretty attached to you though, it's a bit adorable." She smiled as she sat down slowly, fixing her long black hair to the side, placing a strand behind her ear. "Anyway, my brother is the doctor around here. Are you from the nexus as well? We're in the middle city right now."

Zack scratched his forehead and faced the young girl sitting beside him with tired eyes. "I'm from the eastern wall."

The girl's eyes widened in shock; she covered her mouth with the palm of her left hand to muffle the gasp that escaped from her lips. "I-Is that so? What brings a resident of the Sigma Sector all the way up here?" she asked quizzically, leaning forward slightly in interest.

Zack opened his mouth to reply to the question but found no answer to be found in his mind. "You know…I don't remember." The realization of some important event being completely gone from his memory drove a cold shiver up his back. How was that possible? He didn't just teleport there did he? That was ridiculous. And who was this girl? What was her motive, why is she so attached? The towering questions began to take a toll on his mental state.

Unknown to Zack, his white-haired mystery companion had been watching him carefully, studying every reaction and every muscle movement, imitating his movements and facial expressions down to a precise science. The girl sitting in front of them couldn't help but giggle and tilt her head even further in confusion. Any person would be confused by the comical act, was this rehearsed? Were they really from Sector Sigma?

"she's quite the character isn't she," the spectating girl spoke out, breaking Zack and his companion out of their unintended comical act. "what's her name?"

Everyone has a name, no matter how long or short, weird or simple. That's the way it's supposed to be anyway. So, who was this girl? She didn't just appear out of thin air. Had he Drank too much and ended up kidnapping some rich politician's daughter? Did she just happen to have a bad case of Stockholm's syndrome? Was she just plain and simply stupid?

"That's…a good question actually." Zack replied, giving a sigh of defeat shortly after.

Everyone in the room stopped in place and tilted their head towards the opening door behind them. A PPK model T-Doll gracefully entered the room, a platter of food and refreshments in hand. "I brought some drinks and food for everybody, Madam Fleur." She finished with a courteous bow.

"a military grade T-Doll in a residential area?" Zack spoke aloud, squinting his eyes to get a better look at the combat unit in front of him. It wasn't exactly rare to see military grade equipment and DOLLs outside of restricted areas, but having one being owned by someone that isn't a main part of the military or PMC company was unusual.

The girl's eyebrows raised slightly in curiosity, her lips gradually becoming a blossoming smile. "you're quite educated to be able to tell the exact model and commercial grade at a glance, a rather lovely surprise." Zack was quick to cover his slight blush of embarrassment. The old man definitely had rubbed off on him, working in a T-Doll specialist's shop does help with memory apparently.

"You are correct, sir. I'm quite surprised you recognized my make so quickly as well." The Doll gave a slight nod of respect. At first glance it would have been difficult to differentiate the Doll from a human being. They had, after all, been made to resemble a human being down to the last detail. Some later models even had synthetic blood running through a custom vein system to resemble a pulse. For what purpose, Zack was not sure.

The doll had an air of elegance about it. Fitted with a custom maid outfit that hugged every curve. Were those…metal frames keeping her skirt in shape? Definitely something he'd never seen before. From the hips down to her legs she was completely bare, showing quite a bit of glossy skin. Lastly what could most closely be described as ballet shoes with pink bows instead of laces adorned her feet. As a matter of fact, taking a closer look, the entire room was adorned with expensive decorations and even a crystal chandelier above them.

"Your brother is quite successful I take it." Zack expressed himself, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Quite, in the entirety of the mid sector there's only 15 doctors. He's one of the top 5." The girl replied with clear pride in her voice. The PPK Doll beside her nodding in agreement. "madam Fleur is correct; Master Elia is quite a gifted doctor."

"Doc-Doctor…" a small voice creeped from behind Zack, belonging to none other than the white-haired mystery girl behind him. a clump of her hair seemed to move by itself before what seemed to be metal wolf-like ears digged themselves out of the milky white mess.

"Oh my," Fleur spoke aloud in surprise. "I've never seen any sort of fashion like this. Do citizens of the Sigma Sector wear such accessories?"

Zack backed away swiftly, falling unto the floor with a painful crash. "we sure don't, not that I've seen anyway." Things just kept pilling on onto each other, first the memory loss and now a girl with robotic ears? This was definitely a weird ass dream if this is all this was, and Zack wanted to wake up soon.

After a lengthy conversation and a hot meal, Zack decided it was time to head back, 3 days being gone means that his friends were most likely losing their minds trying to find his corpse in a dirty alleyway somewhere back home. Saying life in the Sigma Sector was hard was an understatement so high it should be known as a crime; most businesses ran on debt and collection accounts reinforced by loan sharks and private hitmen. Being gone for more than 24 hours usually meant you were 'dealt with', it was common street knowledge. The worse part was that no matter how hard Zack tried, he couldn't stop thinking of Jennifer storming every known crime syndicate in the area screaming for answers.

"thank you for the help, I only have around 400 credits on me, will that do?" Zack asked as he placed his wallet on the marble countertop of the clinic's entrance. The patient room they had been in had nothing on the entrance, red carpet and multiple glass cases filled the hallway, many filled with medals and golden awards from prestigious institutions.

"It's on the house," Fleur snickered and waved Zack and his companion a swift yet courteous goodbye. "I take it you know your way back?" Zack nodded in response.

Exiting the building, Zack found a small pressure being pressed unto his back. The cause being none other than the mystery girl from earlier pulling on his jacket, trying to stay as close to him as possible. She bore a plain look, one that not many would have been able to delve into any deeper. Despite her blank stare, her hands were shaking slightly. Had this girl never been outside before? Was she one of those secluded people that watched popular shows all day? What was with her getup anyway. Now that they were outside, Zack could see her clothing more clearly. The first thing to stick out was her shirt, the clinic had clearly given it to her, it was at the very least 2 sizes too small and it really made her chest pop out, it even exposed her midriff a little too much which made Zack move his eyes lower at the sight of this. Her pants were quite unexpected, it was a type of synthetic leather that stuck to her skin almost as if it was a part of her leg. There was a purpose for this, Zack had seen many Dolls wearing pants like these, the tightness was meant to stop any bleeding during combat, a sort of synthetic microfiber material.

So why did she have this?

"do you know your way back home?" Zack asked, tilting his head backwards enough to get a look at the girl's face.

A slight shake of the girl's head was enough confirmation. Looks like Zack was stuck with the lost girl after all.


	4. Chapter 4

"She doesn't know her own name, why did I think she knew her way home. Good going, dumbass," Zack thought to himself, giving his forehead a good slap. He continued to look at his surroundings, looking for anything that he could point out to the girl as some sort of clue. It would be a little easier of course…if she wasn't holding on to his hand so tightly.

"H-Hey could you let go, please?" Zack half-turned his face towards the hand violator. Unsurprisingly the girl only stared back at him blankly, the neon lights of the nearby shops reflected on her eyes, making them seem shinier than usual. The wolf-like ears above her head remained pointed up. "I know you can hear me with those damn ears, girl…" Zack groaned in annoyance mentally. The streets sure were alive for the time. Twelve past nine, usually everyone is home by this time back in the east wall, trying not to get mugged or sold off to some organ trader. Good times.

"Ah," a sudden tug to his sleeve drove Zack from his inner monologue, looking down to see the white-haired girl with a face of panic and horror. "Hey what's wrong? You okay?" he asked, trying to look around to match her gaze.

Pedestrians, passing cars and trucks, families eating inside restaurants. What exactly drove her into such a state of panic? The hairs on his arms began to rise as the sense of danger finally began to set in. "What do you see?" He whispered to the white-haired girl in fear. No answer, the girl slowly lifted her arm and pointed her delicate finger towards a hooded figure across the street.

A tall figure wearing combat boots, a black fur jacket and what seemed to be handwarmers stared back at them with predatory yellow eyes, Zack focused his vision and noticed a distinctive scar running down the figure's left eye. Yellow hair swung against the wind as the figure slowly took a step back and faded into the passing crowd.

"Do you know who that was?" Zack asked as he grabbed the hand of the white-haired girl, running into a nearby alleyway to distance him and the girl away from the dangerous stranger. The girl simply shook her head and hid her face on Zack's back as they ran down the abandoned backstreets.

The two leaned against a wall to catch their breath, their escape attempt being apparently successful, a deep agony ran through Zack's chest with each inhaled breath. It was the first time he'd ever ran away from something like his life depended on it, but why? Why did he feel such a need to run away from the figure? Who was it?

"Shiro," a small voice spoke from beside him, the white-haired girl looking right at him.

"Huh?" Zack replied in confusion, "is that their name?"

The girl shook her head and slowly brought her hands up to her chest, trying to emphasize herself, a slight show of annoyance in her brows. Was she trying to show she was upset? Frustrated maybe?

"Your name?" Zack crossed his arms trying to figure out the puzzle developing in front of him.

Shiro shrugged and let out a sigh.

"Well, better than nothing I guess, Shiro it is." Zack smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Shiro."

Shiro returned the greeting with a confirming "Hm" and a nod of her head.

"Well then, onto our next problem, seeing that we are clearly lost we should find a way back to the slums." Zack scratched his hair and looked around the area for a landmark to use for navigation.

Suddenly, the sound of metal trashcans hitting the nearby concrete made the pair turn around, a slender woman stood 5 feet away from them atop the outside wall of a nearby house, sword in hand. Wearing a scarf around her mouth which covered half her face. Her fiery red hair was clearly visible, a lock of hair wrapped around her shoulder like a predatory snake looming over its prey.

"Why is there a pair of sewer rats wandering around in my neighborhood? If you're here to steal then the only thing you're going to get is this ass kicking." The redhead barked aggressively, raising her sword to point the tip of it at the duo ahead. As she extended her arm forward, lifting her clothing slightly, a metallic glint caught Zack's attention. A pistol tightly pressed against her thigh by its holster made the hair's on Zack's back stand up. Why she preferred the sword in this situation, Zach couldn't say. But being unarmed himself, he didn't want to test the situation.

Zack eyed the girl again. She was sporting a pink slip-on jacket with the words 'Cinema Queen' stitched on the front, the bottom was a simple pair of torn black jeans. "We're trying to get back home, we aren't stealing," Zack replied, opening his jacket to show that he had no hidden or stolen items. "Could you please let us go on our way?"

The girl jumped down and slowly began moving towards Zack and Shiro, whose hands were both in the air showing they meant no harm.

"Name's Vigna, I work with the neighborhood watch to keep the theater area safe. Why are you here?" she asked calmly, sheathing her sword within its rightful scabbard behind her back. "You don't seem like the usual unsavory characters we get around here."

Zack let out a loud sigh of relief and slumped his shoulders. "We're lost, I don't know how to get home and this girl here doesn't even know where she lives." As the girl drew closer, Zack could tell she was rather tall, about 5 feet 11 if he had to guess.

Vigna turned her attention to Shiro, raising an eyebrow as her signature ears began to reappear from within her milky white hair. "Interesting." She said under her breath as she softly touched the tip of Shiro's left ear, causing it to flinch against her touch. "Well**,** these don't seem like just accessories."

She turned around and pressed both her hands against her hips, shaking her head slightly. "There's been reports of a damn scary lady around these parts lately, yellow hair, scar on her face. You guys seen her?"

Zack pointed out the way they had come in, the narrow street behind them still flooding with people. "We just ran into her, saw her that way last." He said, before narrowing his brow. "You're not planning on going after her alone, are you?"

Vigna seemed to recoil slightly at the comment, losing her footing for a second. "O-Of course not, I'll just tell the rest of the watch to keep a tighter hold of the streets."

She wasn't very convincing. She seemed young, perhaps a bit **too **young to be carrying around a sword half the size of her own body. Zack couldn't really make a comment on it however, down in the streets it was every man for himself. Even when he had seen young children out on errands back home, almost all of them were armed in some form or another. Even he himself wasn't able to escape the need for firearms, his friends had taught him basic gun etiquette, he was no expert in any way, but at least he knew how to handle most types of domestic firearms.

Old man Aurin had given him some hands-on experience with combat knives, but a **sword?** He'd never met anyone mad enough to teach him the ways of the sword.

"I can handle myself."

The comment brought Zack back to reality, Vigna standing proudly in front of him. pressing her nonexistent chest against his own.

"Look," Zack said, "We're just looking for a way to get back to the eastern wall. Could you just tell us how to get there?"

"Huh? Oh," Vigna deflated slightly, "Yeah, you Just follow this gravel path and you'll be at the Nexus train station; you should still have time before the last train departs." Vigna pointed ahead, a big smile on her face. This girl was quite simple, wasn't she? Was helping others her only happiness in this world? Perhaps everyone else was simple, was something wrong with him? Zack wondered. "Good luck on your way back, see ya later." And with that, she was gone.

The path ahead was well kept, even the rocks on the floor seemed to have organized and placed with regards to their size, had someone been paid to do this? Did the locals do this on their own volition? the roads back at the wall were never this well-kept, as a matter of fact some of them were so misused and unkept that they completely vanished. People knew where to go just from memory alone.

A towering marble structure stuck out from the horizon; the Train Station's clock tower most likely. Lights illuminated the road ahead, a direct parallel from the blanket of darkness back home.

"Thank you." Zack said blankly, the dread of having to return to the dangers of home beginning to show. It had been a fun adventure; it was time to wake up now.

"Will you…follow me this time?" Shiro spoke out, in a voice completely alien to Zack's ears. It was…far more mature and feminine. "as I did for you?"

Zack turned his head so fast he thought his neck would break, an unknown woman standing beside him in Shiro's place. The woman was extremely beautiful, unlike anything Zack had ever seen. Shiro's pure white hair had been replaced by a more mature, empty shade of black. Her blue eyes now a mesmerizing shade of emerald. Her hand tightly wrapped around his.

Zack's eyes widened in surprise. Why was his heart racing? Why did he feel a strange sense of melancholy and a sharp pain on his chest? the woman seemed fragile, as if made of glass. Her legs tightly locked into each other, seemingly trying to stop her from plummeting into the ground below. Something told Zack this wasn't normal, a sense of strength definitely radiated from the woman, so why did she seem so desperate? And why was her grip on him so strong?

"Shiro?" Zack tried to ask, his voice just barely managing to leave his lips.

A small smile formed on the woman's lips, but it didn't speak of happiness. Zach felt a pang of loss and pain emanate from her as she softly sighed, shaking her head."

"No."


End file.
